Gold Coast Tourism Statistics

Updated: 20 January 2020

How many tourists visit the Gold Coast each year?

A total of 5.3M visitors arrived on the Gold Coast in 2018/19. This included 4.2M domestic visitors and 1.1M international visitors.1
  • A total of $5.2B was spent by visitors to the Gold Coast in 2018-19.
  • $1.4B (or 26.9%) was spent by international visitors.
  • $3.77B was spent by domestic visitors.
  • The Gold Coast ranked 7th for overall expenditure.

Gold Coast International Tourism

  • The Gold Coast ranked 5th amongst the most frequently visited regions in Australia.
  • At $1.4B, the Gold Coast ranked 5th in terms of expenditure by international tourists.
Data source: TRA. Image credit: Camper Champ
Data source: TRA. Image credit: Camper Champ

Why do international tourists spend less on the Gold Coast than other Australian destinations?

  • International tourists stay on the Gold Coast for an average of 9 nights.
  • This means stays on the Gold Coast are generally shorter than stays in other destinations.
  • A shorter length of stay means less is spent when visiting.
Data source: TRA. Image credit: Camper Champ

Visiting the Gold Coast Can be Expensive for International Tourists

  • The Gold Coast ranks 2nd for per night expenditure at $140 per night, following Tropical North Queensland.
  • This means more revenue is generated per customer; however, it could also be part of the reason for fewer average nights spent by travellers to the Gold Coast.
Data source: TRA. Image credit: Camper Champ

Top Source Markets

  • With a 26% share in the number of international visitors, China was the top source country for the Gold Coast in 2018-19, followed by New Zealand with 20% of the share.
Data source: TRA. Image credit: Camper Champ

Gold Coast Domestic Tourism

  • The Gold Coast received 4.2M domestic visitors in 2018/19.
  • At $3.77B, the Gold Coast was 6th in terms of domestic expenditure.

Travel Statistics Resources

References

  1. TRA: International Visitor Survey, 2019, National Visitor Survey 2019↩